Ohio State wide receiver Chris Fields, left, celebrates his touchdown against Buffalo with tight end Nick Vannett during the third quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013, in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State beat Buffalo 40-20. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

COLUMBUS - Chris Fields says he is thinking about a career in real estate following his playing days at Ohio State. The receiver from Painesville might want to give sports psychology a shot. A former stand out for the Harvey Red Raiders, Fields said he often sees young players struggle with the transition to college football - a "reality check," he calls it, when highly ranked teenagers come to Columbus expecting to pick up where they left off in high school. He gladly takes them under his wing. "Hey, this competition is heavy. You've got to stick with it and stay positive," Fields said he tells young players who struggle early on. "There's a lot of stress that goes into this, and a lot of players quit on themselves." Fields is the right man to deliver that speech. The transition and mental battle are ones he has waged in his career at Ohio State. Now a fifth-year senior, Fields is the poster child for not quitting on oneself. After a heart-to-heart talk with Coach Urban Meyer following his junior season, the 6-foot-1, 200-pounder rededicated himself and has earned a starting position in his final season with the Buckeyes. In his best game to date with Ohio State, part of OSU's 40-20 win over Buffalo last Saturday, Fields caught two touchdown passes as part of his three-catch, 53-yard day. For his efforts, Fields was one of three offensive players who graded out with "Champion" efforts in Week 1, along with running back Jordan Hall and receiver Corey "Philly" Brown. "Yeah, it surprised me how well I graded out," Fields said on Monday at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. "But hard work pays off. I try to come every day with the mentality that I'm going to be a champion every Saturday." There was some question whether that was going to be a possibility, following Fields' junior season, in which he caught four passes for 55 yards - for the entire year. One of those catches was a difference-maker, coming in the Buckeyes' 29-22 overtime win over Purdue. But in a season-ending meeting with Meyer, Fields said performance was discussed. "He let me know how my role (was going) for this team, and it wasn't very well," Fields said. Meyer confirmed it. "Chris Fields wasn't in the top 50 for playing a game last year," Meyer said on Monday. Fields said he made changes in his life, his work ethic and "how I do things," in general. He knew the end of his playing days at Ohio State was near. It was time for a change. Now-or-never kind of stuff. His offseason transformation led him to a breakout performance in the annual spring game in April, after which Meyer christened him a starter heading into fall camp. Still, Meyer let Fields know, "we have some people," both on the roster and coming in during the summer, and "maybe you should start working a little harder." The message was received. Meyer was still raving of Fields two days after the breakout performance. "One of the most improved players on the team," Meyer said. "I admire Chris Fields. He's just playing his tail off and doing a lot of things for us, and he's doing it all right, too." Meyer talked at length on Monday about the importance of special teams, particularly the contributions of young players making an impact on special teams before they earn the right to get playing time on offense or defense. Said assistant coach Kerry Coombs, "If you can't make the tackle on coverage, you can't catch the pass on offense." Field accentuated the importance of special teams, noting he's been on kick return, punt block and kickoff teams in his years at OSU. He also returned a punt for a touchdown his sophomore season. "Coach runs a business that you've got to get stuff done," Fields said. "Come out every day with a good day (because) sometimes if you don't have a good day, that guy behind you can go in front of you." That's why Fields doesn't have any plans of letting up, not even in practice, now that he has a starting position. He knows others are nipping at his heels. Fields admitted on Monday his chance to shine came later in his career than he thought or hoped it would. But he isn't wasting time looking back at where he was, choosing rather to use his offseason talk with Meyer as a starting point and getting as much as possible out of his senior year. If he can help a few newcomers along the way, counseling them on the tribulations - familiar ones to Fields - then so be it. "You've got to grasp all the memories you have here and take advantage of what you have in front of you," Fields said. "This is my last go-around. I have to make sure I make the best of it."